LV Sands planning for IPO in Hong Kong

Bloomberg News is reporting this morning that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will apply for an initial public offering of shares in of its Macau casinos on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange next month.

The news service cited an unnamed source.

The casino operator hinted recently it was exploring the idea as a way of raising money to restart its stalled casino projects on Macau’s Cotai Strip region. Las Vegas Sands halted construction of a portion of a planned $12 billion development in Macau last November while the company dealt with financial and funding issues in the United States.

Also, Las Vegas Sands, which operates the Venetian and Palazzo on the Strip, will try to negotiate amendments to its credit agreements, seeking changes in lending covenants and permission to sell as much as $1.5 billion in new debt, the wire service said.

High debt levels could cause the company to breach the covenants of its bonds by this fall, according to gaming analysts.

While celebrating the topping off of the $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, company Chairman Sheldon Adelson said an IPO could raise more than $2 billion.